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Schizophrenia During Pregnancy can Raise the Risk of Interpersonal Violence by Threefold

Schizophrenia During Pregnancy can Raise the Risk of Interpersonal Violence by Threefold

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Recent research suggests that pregnant schizophrenic women are three times more likely to be victims of interpersonal violence

Highlights:
  • Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe mental disorder that affects the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality, and relates to others
  • A recent study shows that pregnant schizophrenic women are more than three times as likely to encounter interpersonal violence when compared to individuals without schizophrenia
  • Not all hope is lost, though, as routine screening for violence can identify it and intervene whenever necessary
A new study shows that pregnant and postpartum people suffering from schizophrenia have a more than threefold increase in the risk of an emergency department visit for interpersonal violence compared with those without schizophrenia. The study was published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Interpersonal violence can include physical, sexual, and psychological abuse by a family member, intimate partner, acquaintance, or stranger.

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Interpersonal Violence Experienced by Pregnant Schizophrenic Women

"Though we found a threefold increased risk for individuals with schizophrenia, we also found that the majority of people, both with and without schizophrenia, are screened for interpersonal violence during pregnancy," says lead author Kelly Leslie, a fourth-year psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto. "This suggests there are many opportunities for health care providers to intervene and prevent harm to these patients and their children."

Around 1 in 5—that is, 20.7% of women suffering from schizophrenia—experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime. This is about 9 times the risk for those without a serious mental illness. However, little is known about their risk during the perinatal period. Perinatal is the period of time between when you become pregnant and up to a year after giving birth.

The study included more than 1.8 million pregnant people aged 15–49 years, of whom 4470 had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia were more likely to live in a lower-income neighborhood, to have other psychiatric and chronic medical conditions, and to have had an emergency department (ED) visit for interpersonal violence in the 2 years before their pregnancy.

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Key Features of the Study

On the whole, 3.1% of people with schizophrenia visited the ED for interpersonal violence during pregnancy and the first year after giving birth, compared to 0.4% of those without schizophrenia.

Although pregnant individuals with schizophrenia were equally likely to be screened for (74.3% v. 73.8%) interpersonal violence, they are more likely to self-report (10.2% v. 2.4%) the violence instead.

Among the participants who were screened but did not disclose interpersonal violence in pregnancy, schizophrenia was associated with a sixfold increase in the risk of experiencing an ED visit for interpersonal violence in both pregnancy and postpartum.

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Effect of Interpersonal Violence on Mother and Baby

Around the time of pregnancy, interpersonal violence affects not only the person experiencing it but also the developing fetus or infant. Maternal consequences include acute injuries, chronic pain, and psychiatric disorders. Interpersonal violence is also associated with absent or delayed prenatal care, preterm birth, poor fetal growth, difficulties in maternal–child attachment, and maternal, fetal, and neonatal death.

It is important to note that routine violence screening in antenatal care settings is an important opportunity for intervention to prevent severe physical, psychological, and social harm to these patients and their children.

Reference:
  1. Risk of interpersonal violence during and after pregnancy among people with schizophrenia: a population-based cohort study - (https://www.cmaj.ca/content/195/9/E322)


Source-Medindia


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